1179——————==

Soul of the Evil God

After the meeting, I asked Vivian if I could see the protector of the West. Obviously, in the current situation, there were practically no divine beings left that were friendly to humans. But Vivian shook her head.

“…The soul of the god has almost extinguished. You cannot meet any other beings now.”

I was taken aback.

“It’s weakened to that extent?! It was already like this last time too, why is the god getting weaker?”

Indeed. When I met the protector of the West in my previous life, he was already weakened, and Vivian had warned me to be cautious when meeting him. It was only natural to be curious about why such a powerful divine being was in such a state.

Then Vivian said,

“About two thousand years ago… he nailed himself to a cross to lay down the law of cause and effect for the human world.”

“……?”

“Due to his sacrifice of his own avatar to acquire the law of cause and effect, the West used to have at least a minimal blessing for humans, even during the rise of the Demon Path. However, that sacrifice was incredibly hard to bear, even for a divine being, so the sanctity of our protector has been declining ever since.”

I raised my eyebrows at the unexpected revelation.

“That happened? But the Demon Path was already on the rise in the West 500 years ago. It seems ineffective…”

“It was unavoidable. On the contrary, without his sacrifice, human civilization would not have existed in the West.”

“Was the influence of the Old Ruler suppressed to that extent?”

“For more than 3000 years, there were dozens of foreign evil divine beings hiding in the shadows, continuously sending apostles or avatars through the Demon Sorcerers. Unlike the Easterners, who were blessed by several absolute beings of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, this side had no restraining force from the Celestial Realm.”

“…….”

Well, if the situation was that dire, no matter how powerful the protector of the West was, he would have a hard time standing up against the Old Ruler.

“Hmm. Considering his original power, he must not be underestimated; he’s at least at the rank of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors…. Just looking at Berus shows that he’s an upper-tier divine being!”

I found it odd.

How could such a powerful cosmic entity sacrifice itself to weaken its own body just for humans? Being aware that emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure exist in slightly lesser degrees towards gods, I found it strange for any ethics to apply against mere humans.

Could it be that he was a god solely for humans?

I asked another question.

“Archbishop Behemoth was also a member 500 years ago, but he didn’t attend today. What happened to him?”

“He is assigned to a different duty by the protector. Thus, he is not here in the current world.”

“And the Eastern Orthodox Church?”

“It has relocated its base to another dimension. The Archbishop Belov you know has gone to another dimension as well.”

So Archbishop Belov was still alive…

It seemed that he had lived for 500 years as an upper sorcerer. Furthermore, he must have gained even more strength after suffering from divine fever.

“Hmm.”

The situation with the western Jesuits didn’t look good. No matter how you slice it, if their power had weakened compared to 500 years ago, they were definitely not strong. Most importantly, the absence of Faust, the key figure, was significant.

“It’s only natural that the power of the forces of order weakens as the end approaches… but still, to think they’re weaker than 500 years ago is just deflating.”

After pondering for a moment, I said to Vivian.

“Continue with Merlin’s recovery ceremony. Since we’ll be fighting together in the end, I’d like to send guards from our side to protect Merlin instead of Berus.”

“I would appreciate that.”

Crack

I returned to the base with my companions and spread out a map. After going through it once, I input the data into the cerebrum. Soon, the cerebrum spoke of the precise location on the map.

[The location is near Bale Mountain in the Republic of Ethiopia, in the Harena Forest. I’ll mark the latitude and longitude on the map.]

Whir

As I looked at the location that appeared on the world map, I muttered in disbelief.

“…That’s Africa, known as the Black Continent, right? Why is Chi You’s Arm there…?”

I couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Wait, the territory of the Three Sovereigns was in the Central Plains, wasn’t it?! Isn’t that the West? How could you seal it over there?!”

Indeed.

The Black Continent is a vast landmass you’d see much further southwest of the Middle East! It could be firmly categorized as the West, and in fact, it has almost no historical connection with the Central Plains. Even those who occasionally came from the Black Continent were merely referred to as wandering people with little cultural interaction with civilizations.

Therefore, it didn’t make sense. Originally, the Eastern region, where the truce using the Seven Luminaries was hammered out, was the home and foundation of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, and they could not simply rampage outside of that realm. This was encroaching upon the territories of other Old Rulers!

Then Professor Sima Ling, who was attending the meeting, said,

“Coincidentally, that location is widely known as the place of the Prester John legend.”

“Prester John?”

“It’s a medieval Christian legend about a priest-king Johan, suggesting a prosperous Christian kingdom exists in the east. There was speculation that the Kingdom of Ethiopia is the reality behind that legend, and Bale Mountain has been suspected by archaeologists worldwide to be the location where the divine treasures of Prester John are hidden.”

Sima Ling chuckled lightly.

“…It seems that the sealing of Chi You has led to the spread of such rumors in the western world.”

“Probably.”

“I’m not sure about the finer details, but Chi You was known as the One Who Destroys the Gods. Wouldn’t he be a public enemy? Thus, I would imagine that everyone would agree on thorough sealing, transcending the interests of the East and West.”

I found Sima Ling’s words quite sensible.

“Hmm. That could be true…”

Well, from the standpoint of the Old Rulers who descended in the West, Chi You was probably not a welcomed presence. If absolute force that could launch an unprovoked assault against powerful figures like Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen were to come flying toward them, they couldn’t just turn a blind eye. Therefore, even if the Three Sovereigns came all the way to the West intending to seal Chi You, they likely cooperated rather than rejected it.

“Plus, the Three Sovereigns were powerful in ancient times, so it’s even more understandable…”

While I was deep in thought, Cheon Woo-jin spoke up.

“One more thing has been clarified.”

“What is it?”

“The locations of the other two legs of Chi You are also not limited to the Eastern world…. They will have to search across the entire globe.”

“Damn… that’s not pleasing at all.”

“What will you do then? Are you going to head out right now to find Chi You’s legs?”

“…….”

I pondered for a moment, then said,

“That sounds better. I want to find them as quickly as possible so we’re prepared for whatever might arise. Also, it would be better to unravel the secrets of the Twin Temple soon.”

Thus, following the cerebrum’s suggestion, I formed two exploration teams to search for Chi You’s body. One was led by me, and the other was led by Asura. Upon seeing that Sa Gong Lin was assigned to my side, I realized the cerebrum’s intention.

‘The cerebrum is also keeping an eye on Sa Gong Lin. Is it because it’s concerned that she might steal Chi You’s body while being the head of the other exploration team?’

I would have liked to say not to suspect Sa Gong Lin, but it wasn’t really the time for that. I just forced a bitter smile and told my group.

“Let’s go.”

Crack

As we entered Harena Forest in Ethiopia, we saw the majestic Bale Mountain standing tall. As we approached the marked position on the map, the map reacted on its own, creating a shimmering space in the air.

Whoosh

As the door to the otherworldly realm opened, we promptly entered, and surprisingly, we found ourselves in an underwater scene.

Bubbling…!!

“Hmm?!”

Fortunately, as soon as we entered, an air barrier formed automatically, allowing us to avoid swimming underwater, but it was unexpected. Why did we end up in the ocean? I asked the cerebrum through my smartphone.

“Cerebrum, it seems we’ve suddenly arrived at the seabed. Where is this?”

[UNKNOWN.]

“Eh?”

[This location does not exist on Earth. It’s a perfect otherworldly dimension, and you are at a depth where depth measurement is even impossible.]

Bubbling…

Feeling like I had been tossed into a place covered entirely by the sea was scarier than I expected. As I gazed at the endless depths and the darkness beyond, my heart sank slightly, but as we moved deeper, I noticed two temples in the distance.

‘Could that be the Twin Temple Vivian mentioned?’

According to Vivian, entering one temple would erase the other. And since the previous western expedition team detected a powerful barrier inside the temple and didn’t proceed further, it could practically be considered unchallenged so far.

I divided the team according to our pre-arranged strategy. Then I said,

“Let’s enter simultaneously. If that doesn’t work, we’ll re-strategize.”

If one temple disappears upon entering the other, then there was no choice but to go in at the same time!

After a while, we approached the temple and entered through the entrance in unison.

Foosh!

With another feeling of the dimensional phase changing, the air barrier around us lifted, and we felt the dry air settling in. Upon entering the temple, I attempted to communicate with Asura through my smartphone.

“Asura, can you hear me?”

There was no response. Even contacting the cerebrum proved futile.

‘Damn. Are all communications cut off here…?’

Without a way to confirm whether the other group made it safely into the other temple, I frowned but continued.

“Let’s proceed for now.”

Pat…

As we walked for quite a while, Professor Sima Ling, who was part of my group, looked around in fascination and said,

“Can you believe this? The exterior is designed in the architecture style of the Ancient Pantheon, but the interior follows the style of the Silver Age. This place truly seems to be a relic of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.”

“Hmm… but what are those tentacles?”

Wriggle, wriggle…

From everywhere, dark, amorphous clusters of tentacles with dozens of eyes were slithering closer. There were so many that they almost filled the entire view of the structure in an instant. Seems like Professor Sima Ling was nervous; I could hear him gulp.

“…These are ancient mythical beasts left for defense by the Three Sovereigns.”

“Do you know their names?”

“Only that they are dangerous…”

Whoosh!!

In the next moment, monsters crashed in, but Cheon Woo-jin quickly formed a spirit connection and activated an illusion technique.

Thousand Dream Willow Binding

Immaterial hands appeared in midair, seemingly causing the monsters’ bodies to shrink and flatten into a two-dimensional form. It looked like cartoonish creatures fluttering onto a stark white canvas, ultimately leading to a flurry of paper scraps falling from the sky.

Flutter…

Having turned thousands of tentacle monsters into drawings in an instant, Cheon Woo-jin said,

“They’re formidable demon beasts, so I can’t keep them contained in this dimension for long. Let’s move forward quickly.”

“Got it.”

I was glad to have Cheon Woo-jin with me. Just by forming a spirit connection, he could seal everything around us into a picture! If his abilities had even half recovered, then he was truly remarkable during his prime.

Pat

After about a thousand steps, Sa Gong Lin suddenly spoke.

“This is the barrier of the Infinite Corridor. Just as Vivian said.”

According to Vivian, the Jesuit expedition teams were able to tackle mythical creatures but failed to breach the barrier of this infinitely folded space known as the Infinite Corridor and turned back instead. I casually asked Cheon Woo-jin.

“Cheon Woo-jin, can you break it?”

“…….”

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

Noticing Cheon Woo-jin’s complexion turn pale, he looked completely sick and frightened.

“Wh-what is that beyond the barrier…?”

“Huh?”

“Ugh… it’s not about breaking the barrier; it’s about that….”

As I tilted my head in confusion, Sa Gong Lin chimed in from next to me.

“Baek Woong, can you see what exists beyond the barrier?”

“Just a moment.”

I had been walking indifferently until now, so I had yet to use even a shred of my internal power. As I concentrated and tried to gather my inner power, the refined spirit power started gathering in my vision through the Jade Emperor’s influence. I wanted to activate the Third Eye, the power of the Wheel King, but using it even once depletes significant energy, so it was preferable to avoid it while recovering.

Whoosh

“……!!”

Finally, I caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure beyond the faint barrier, and I gasped in shock. There was something black, almost human-like, lurking behind the mist.

No…. if you count the number of those shapes, they’re identical to our party.

Realizing something from that fact, my face stiffened.

“Don’t tell me…. if we break the barrier…”

“It appears to be a trial of the Mirror.”

Sa Gong Lin continued in a melodious tone.

“Those ominous power-blasting entities will bear the same shapes as us and fight with the same powers. It’s one of the most ominous curses in the world. I, too, distinctly feel this energy as highly ominous.”

If Sa Gong Lin said that, it must be a high-difficulty trial for sure. I tilted my head.

“Ominous energy? I don’t really feel anything…”

“Really? Such an evil aura is quite rare.”

I glanced at the side. Professor Sima Ling, whom I had brought for the purpose of analyzing the inner ruins, seemed to have fainted due to the evil energy. I shrugged and placed Professor Sima Ling in my wooden armor.

“I truly feel nothing at all.”

“…In that case, I’ll attempt to dispel the barrier right now.”

Boom!

In the next moment, Sa Gong Lin thrust her golden hand forward, causing a flash of light to erupt as the space burst open. Then, the scenery around us changed drastically, revealing dark, hellish otherworldly dimensions drenched in crimson blood, where jet-black forms resembling us appeared simultaneously.

“Wow, they really look just like us.”

So those guys would wield the same powers and techniques as us in combat, huh?

Slither, slither

But just then, the black entities seemed to flinch as they regarded me suspiciously, and I couldn’t help but feel puzzled as to why they weren’t launching an attack. While I was wondering about this, one dog-like shape that looked just like me bellowed out.

[Baek Woong! You wouldn’t dare use the Book of Life and Death, would you…!!]

“……!!”

[If it’s not that, then your every attack will rebound upon you! Therefore, we will win!]

Ah, I see!

“Got it, wait a minute!”

I immediately summoned the Book of Life and Death and started writing down the names of the black phantoms appearing before me.

Thud!

Thud!

One by one, the black phantoms began to collapse. Even the fake Cheon Woo-jin shadow writhed in agony as its heart ruptured.

[Ugh… why did you have to say that? The main body can use the Book of Life and Death, but you can’t…. If you hadn’t mentioned that, there might still have been a chance to find a way to counter me with the mirrored powers of the Heavenly Demon Sa Gong Lin…!]

[No, that’s not it….]

[You pathetic idiot….]

As the fake Baek Woong began to argue, the fake Cheon Woo-jin flipped him off and disintegrated into dust, and soon the fake Sa Gong Lin phantom vanished as well.

Whoosh…

With the last fake Baek Woong phantom disappearing, a desolate wind swept through.

As Cheon Woo-jin, who had been observing the scene with a sour expression, remarked:

“It seems you didn’t have a bad feeling once you realized that a copy of you was being summoned….”

“…….”

Hey. Just throw some insults instead….

My face contorted, and then Sa Gong Lin tried to wrap up the situation.

“Look, there’s an altar over there. That must be the Arm of Chi You.”